Certification Programs

What is GREENGUARD Certification?

Simply put, GREENGUARD Certification ensures that a product has met some of the world's most rigorous and comprehensive standards for low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into indoor air.

GREENGUARD Certification Helps Identify Healthier Products

As the demand for healthier, more sustainable products continues to expand, consumers and building industry professionals increasingly demand substantiation of product sustainability claims and rely on trustworthy third-party certifiers to guide purchasing and specification decisions. GREENGUARD Certification provides the market with solutions and resources to identify products with lower chemical emissions, and provides manufacturers with credible tools to legitimize and promote their sustainability efforts.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is closely tied to health, and is therefore recognized as an important concern in homes, schools, healthcare environments and commercial spaces. Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from building materials and furnishings is a major source of indoor air pollution. GREENGUARD Certification has been widely adopted as a trusted standard for low-emitting products. In fact, more than 400 green building codes, standards, guidelines, procurements policies, and rating systems give credit for GREENGUARD Certified products.

Certification Types

GREENGUARD Certification emissions limits were first used as purchasing specifications for the US EPA and the State of Washington for furniture and commercial building products. GREENGUARD Certification criteria have been the basis for the LEED credit for low emitting furniture since 2002. Office Furniture products that are GREENGUARD Certified are also compliant with the BIFMA X7.1 standard and BIFMA e3 credit 7.6.1.

The GREENGUARD Gold standard includes health based criteria for additional chemicals and also requires lower total VOC emissions levels to ensure that products are acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. In addition to limiting emissions of more than 360 VOCs and total chemical emissions, GREENGUARD Gold Certified products must also comply with requirements of the State of California's Department of Public Health "Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, Version 1.1 (2010)" (also known as California Section 01350). Office Furniture products that are GREENGUARD Gold Certified are also compliant with the BIFMA X7.1 standard and BIFMA e3 credits 7.6.1, 7.6.2, and 7.6.3.

A summary of the allowable emission limits for GREENGUARD Certification and GREENGUARD Gold Certification can be found here.